Closer To Home
by Kasey Clark
Summary: The two Winchesters recieve another order from their father. Once they get to their hunting site, one of them knows the factors involved alittle too well.


**SUMMARY:Sam and Dean investigate all kinds of supernatural things. But not everything is caused by monsters and ghosts. What happens when the current case turns out to be more normal then paranormal? This was a challenge posted on the forum. (an extra note: any locations andarea codes i create are not real, I made them upoff the top of my head.)**

"Sam, get off I wanna check my mail!" I screamed at my younger brother. He had been absorbed in his laptop screen for almost an hour, while I had to sit on yet another dingy hotel bed and flip through t.v. channels.

"I'll be done in a minute!" Sam yelled back, equally loud. His head was placed in one of his long hands and his eyes were glued to the screen. "And will you turn that crap down? I can't concentrate!"

Irratated I hit the POWER button and threw the remote aside. Sam had seemed off for the past few days. While we were driving he had refused to answer my sarcastic jokes and stared out of his window. "What are you doing, anyways?"

"Nothing."

I walked over to the table. Sam had answered so quickly that my attention was perked. Peeking a glance outside the draped windows I saw a lonesome car drive by in the oncoming darkness. The town was falling apart. With a population of less than two hundred and no visiters, I was afraid the motel manager was going to throw a party for Sam and I when we gave him some business.

I hadn't originally planned on stopping, I wanted to get another five hundred miles in before my body forced me to rest, but just as my car crossed the Tennessee border, Sam forced me to pull into Richardson until we had found another hunting gig.

Glancing at the computer I read the words that filled the screen. It was an email, and a long one at that.

_"...I know you're busy and all that, but you promised you'd check up on us once in awhile. I haven't gotten a letter from you since you visited Rebecca. Do you not want to stay in touch anymore since Jess? I mean, I thought we could stay friends, I know my aunt and uncle are still angry, but that shouldn't mean ending our relationship. And of course Chris's..."_

"Dude, do you have some cyber girlfriend that you haven't told me about?" I asked, eyebrows raised.

Jumping, Sam looked up at me. His eyes were bloodshot, but I couldn't tell if it was from staring at the computer for so long or from trying to hold back tears.

"Oh, yes, that's why they mentioned Jessica and her aunt and uncle being angry at me. Makes perfect sense."

"Alright, asshole, who is it then?" Taking another quick glance outside, I saw the first few drops of rain. The sky had turned a dreary black and thick gray clouds covered up the stars.

"Her name's Lindsey."

"And?" My thoughts were beginning to wonder. Sam was still putting on his brooding attiditude, telling me only what he wanted, and I wanted the labtop.

"She is, uh-was Jess's cousin. I met them on spring break and we've been friends ever since. She got accepted to Stanford last fall and her brother came and lived with her." By that point my younger brother was running his hands through his long dark hair. I noticed once again how dark the circle under his eyes were. Only someone who hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in several weeks could look as rough as that.

"Jess had cousins?" My older brother instincts had kicked in and I was suddenly aware of Sam's stress.

He let out a long sigh, stood up, and sat down on his designated bed. As I waited for him to continue on, I took the oppurtunity to sign on in my name. With slightly narrowed eyes, Sam answered.

"She had four actually. But Linds and Chris were the only ones who talked to me."

"Uh huh," my attention was now focused on my emails, leaving only the smallest amount centered on Sam. I had recieved more mail than I usually did. A whopping three. One was an ad telling me how to become rich in twenty four hours, the other was from a girl I'd met while at a bar. It consisted of prfane words and questions on why I hadn't called her.

But the last email. The name was 32546. No letters, just a jumble of numbers. And on the heading was SGNILLIK LETOH. I debated over opening it. I'd already put two viruses, causing Sam to loose his voice yelling at me. But this one seemed different. It seemed like it was from someone I knew, but they were trying to hide something.

"They never took me seriously. Jess came from a prominent Boston family. Hard-working father, loving mother, caring older brother. I was the rebel. Just a college student with no money. They wanted Jess to marry rich, marry someone that was respected. Someone that wasn't me..."

Hearing Sam's voice, but not processing the words, I opened the letter, determined it was something more than junk. I expected words to fill the page. I expected black and white to blend. But only one lonesome sentence was written.

"THIS IS AN ORDER."

My eyes widened. I scrolled up and down, expecting to see more. But there was nothing. Dad didn't need to say more. He knew I could figure it out.

I closed the mail and re-read the title. It still made no sense. SGNILLIK LETOH.

"Dude, come check this out, Dad sent us a job." From the corner I saw Sam's tall, lean body stand up abrubtly. Another second and the man was in my face.

"Are you serious!" he asked in a harsh voice.

I hadn't noticed that his eyes were fixed on me, not on the few words Dad had sent. "Yeah, but I don't have the slightest idea what he's saying."

"I can't believe you," he whispered, throwing an exasperated arm up. "I actually tell you alittle about Jess and you don't even pay attention!"

"I was listening!" I lied.

"Then what was I talking about? How many cousins did Jess have!"

I racked my brain for answers, knowing I'd pull up nothing.

"Dean!" Sam's voice was at a tone that anyone could have heard within a two mile radius.

Shaking my head, I pondered on what to say next. My attention was still so wrapped in Dad's message, I wasn't fully scared of Sam's anger. "Sam, I'm sorry. I got this message and I'm trying to figure out what it means."

"And that's better than what I was telling you? You asked who that email was from, I was just giving you an answer!" there was a slight pause as the man took a gulp of breath. "Oh, yes, I forgot. Dad just gave you an order. And whenever that happens you just drop everything and go. How dare I interrupt!"

My cheeks flushed. I knew Sam was angry at me, was pissed off that I'd ignored him, but I had no clue it was that much. AS he ranted on, my mind registered what my brother had just said. What his mouth had just spat out.

"Liar."

Sam stopped talking, confused. "What? Listen, I got that same email! I knew he was trying to send us on another crusade. So don't act like you really were paying attention to me!"

"You are such a bastard."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me! We've been fighting ever since the Asylum, and after you came back in Indiana I thought we'd worked everything out," my voice had equaled his, and I had somehow managed to end up on my feet, face shoved into the younger man's. "But you lied! Every damn thing ELLICOT said was right!"

Sam's angry face deepened. Quickly licking his lips, he responded, even quieter. "What do you want me to do, Dean? You want me to leave...again?"

"I need some time alone...to sort things out." I answered slowly, my voice falling with his.

"Fine. I'll leave you just as before...and then come back and save your ass."

With a final note, Sam took a few steps and opened the small door. The rain had hardened, carrying with it a chilliness that caused goosebumps to run throughout my body. I glared into the open, the night seeming to taunt me. It's chilling wind and deep blackness stated with finalty that Sam and I were not healing our relationship for the better; if anything it was becoming worse.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short, but I wanted to see if you all could figure out what John's email was. It's not that hard I just like to see how people take it. Oh, and I realize their has already been too much fighting between the Winchester boys, but I just had to have them have this little row. Don't worry, it'll all be fixed early on in the next chapter. **


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